As is known, liquid substances are normally packaged using equipment designed to automatically fill a number of empty containers fed along a processing line; and the various processing units, e.g. for filling, closing, and labelling the containers, and packing a number of containers in a package suitable for transport, are connected to one another by linear or angular transfer devices.
Known angular transfer devices, or so-called rotary conveyors, comprise a rotary shaft fitted with a bottom platform; and a top disk having an orderly succession of peripheral seats, each for partly receiving a relative container resting on the bottom platform. The conveyor also comprises a fixed outer guide which, together with the peripheral edge of the top disk, defines a feed channel for the containers; and the conveyor rotates about the longitudinal axis of the rotary shaft to transfer the containers along an arc-shaped path from an input station, e.g. a linear feeder, to an output station, e.g. a filling machine.
The peripheral seats on the top disk are shaped to mate with the engaged container; and, when a change is made in the size of the containers, the top disk must be replaced with another having seats of the right size.
The top disk of known rotary conveyors is bolted to the rotary shaft and therefore awkward to change. In fact, appropriate tools and a certain amount of manual skill on the part of the fitter are required for the job to be done quickly.